Answer to a Popish Pamphlet Called the Touchstone of the Reformed Gospel, Part 2 · Subpart 34
34 THat wee ought not expreſly pray to them, to pray or interceed to God for us.
VVHichWhich he ſayeth is contrarie to Luke 16. 24. Where the Rich-glutton in hell prayeth to Abraham to hauehave merciemercy on him. To which I hauehave alreadie anſwered, That it is parabolicall and therefore proveth not.
The ſecond place is, Iob 5. 1. Call now, if there be any that will anſwere thee, and to which of the ſaints will thou turne? To which I anſwe…e, That Cardinall Cajetan ſetteth this down as the meaning of the words. That heerby Eliphaz would ſhowe Iob that his innocencie which he ſo much maintained, wold get none of the ſaints that would maintaine ſo bad a cauſe, & to pleade ſuch innocencie as he did, or who would approue his ſpeeches. The intention of Eliphaz being onlie to convince Iob that none wer ever ſo ſharplie puniſhed as he was, except he had ben wicked or an hypocrit, (which was Eliphaz errour) & therfore he biddeth him ſhowe any of the ſaints or godly before him that ever were ſo puniſhed. 2. Their owne Lyra alſo expoundeth this place thus, That Eliphaz telles Iob, That ſeing God anſwereth him not in his ſad affliction, to whom other can he hauehave his recourſe? For thou ſhalt not hauehave the ſaints (ſayeth he) to be thy helpers, ſo that this place rather maketh againſt prayer to ſaints, nor for it. As for the Fathers whom he citeth onlie (as his uſe is) but ſetteth not down their words, they make nothing for him and hee citeth the works of ſome, as that of Athanaſius, which is nowiſe extant.
And becauſe this man would bear his reader and proſelits in hand (as moſt of them do deceatfullie) That they pray onlie to ſaints to pray to God, or interceed for them, but that they ſeek not pardon or grace & ſuch like frō the ſaints themſelves, as Bellar. alſo profeſſeth, lib. 1. de Sanct. cap. 17. I will ſhowe how deceatfullie they deale with ſimple ſoules, and that their practiſe is quyte contrarie, & that they ſeeke theſe thinges from them whereof God onlie is the giver, as MercieMercy, pardon of ſinnes, grace, and other good gifts. And ſhal inſtance this onlie in theſe places of their own old printed books, againſt which they cannot except, & which I hauehave beſide me to ſhow to any who deſireth. The firſt is that idolatrous invocation of the virgin Marie in the Romā Miſſall, the words wherof are theſe, O felix puer pera, noſtra pians ſce…era, jure matris impera redemptori. tua ſēper ubera noſtra ſanent vulnera. That is, O bleſſed Mother who expiateth-our ſinnes, by the authoritie of a mother, command our Redeemer. and let thy pape milk heale our wounds. Which is ſo groſſe, that Bellarmin is aſhamed therof and moſt ſhamleſlie denyeth it, ſaying, (lib. 1. de ſanct. beat. cap. 16.) Who ever of us spake ſo▪ why do they not proue it by ſome inſtance? To the ſame purpoſe it is ſaid and worſe, in their pſalter of the virgine Marie printed at Rome▪ 1588. pſal. 35. Coge illum peccatoribus nobis miſereri, that is, compell him to hauehave merciemercy upon us ſinners. In which book alſo, which is a rapſodie of horrid blaſphemies, all the pſalmes of David are turned from the Lord to our Ladie, and pſal. 50. it is ſaid. HaueHave merciemercy on me our Ladie, who is the Mother of mercies, and according to the bowels of thy mercies clange me from my ſinnes. And againe pſal. 71. it is ſaid, O God give juſtice to the King, and giuegive merciemercy to the queene his mother, whēce it is that their Gabriel Biel on the Canon of the Maſſe, lect. 80. ſayes thus, As Ahaſuerus promiſed to Eſther even to the half of his kingdom, even ſo, ſeing our heavenly Father hath Juſtice and merciemercy, as the beſt things of his kingdome, reſerving juſtice to himſelf, he hath given merciemercy to his mother the virgin Marie (ſayth he) whence (ſayeth their Bernardin de buſto in Mariali part. 3. ſer. 3.) It is lawfull to appeale from the Sons juſtice to the mothers merciemercy. Hence it is alſo, as Sir Edvin Sandys obſerved in his European travails, and speculum Europae, p. 4. That the honour which they do to her is double for the moſt part (ſayeth he) to that which they do to our Saviour, and where one profeſſeth himſelf a devoto or peculiar ſervant of our Lord, whole towns, as Siena by name, are the devoti of our Ladie, & where one voweth to Chriſt, ten vowe to her, and not ſo much to herſelf, as to ſome peculiar image of hers, which for ſome ſelect vertue or grace, together with greater power of working Miracles they chieflie worſhip, as the glorious La…ie of Loreto, the devote Ladie of Rome, the miraculous Ladie of Proven Zano▪ and the annunciata of Florence. And as their vows are ſuch are their pilgramages and rich offerings. Yea their devils in exorciſme are alſo taught to endure the conjuring of thē by the name of God or the Trinitie without trouble or motion (ſayeth he) but at the naming of our Ladie to …oſs & torment, as feeling then a new force of a more unreſiſtable power. I could inſtance the prayer to many other ſaints in their Roman Miſſall for grace, pardon and glorie, whereof God is the only giver, as to S. Maurus fol. 51. S. Martha fol. 56. & S. Francis &c. And yet (ſayth Bellarmin lib. 1. de ſanctis cap. 20. §. alii) to the knowing of prayers, that at one time are made in diverſe places, is required ubiquitie, which we believe doth neither agree to the spirits of men nor Angels.